In ice hockey, the goaltender, also known colloquially as the goalie, is the player who defends his or her team's goal by stopping shots of the puck from entering his or her team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. Because of the power of shots, the goaltender wears special equipment designed to protect the body from direct impact. Special goaltending equipment is subject to specific regulations. For example, many other professional and non-professional leagues adhere to equipment size regulations based on International Ice Hockey Federation rules. The National Hockey League (NHL) specifies maximum dimensions of goaltending equipment to prevent goalies from having an unfair puck blocking advantage. Current NHL rules restrict leg pad width to 11 inches (280 mm); the overall height is restricted based upon an individual proportionally. The leg pads generally come to about 8 to 10 inches above the knee. Similar regulations are in place for blockers, gloves, chest pads, and other goalie equipment.
As pads are used, the interior padding begins to break down as a result of general wear and tear and impacts by pucks. Through this process the pad will deform from its initial optimal dimensions. Further, as the pad wears, the interior can soften, such that the flex and performance of the pad diminishes even though the exterior of the pad may not show excessive wear. Thus, a need exists to provide an improved pad with increased durability and flex control that will maintain performance over time.
The present invention solves this need by providing a pad in which the padding is made up of a plurality of layers, where at least one layer is a recoil plate constructed from a semi-rigid material such as flexible carbon fiber. Such a configuration stabilizes the shape of the pad by decreasing compression in height, width, and/or depth, thus holding the body of the pad in optimal shape. This configuration also holds the edges of the pad straighter and thus enables the pad to lay flatter on the ice when in use.